CASA GRANDE, Ariz. – Sacrifice, commitment and hard work are words that are tossed around quite frequently at the Grande Sports Academy and fifteen seniors saw their efforts rewarded by signing their National Letter of Intent on Thursday night.
The seniors spoke about the experience of signing below.
Andrew Brody, University of Louisville – What is it like to sign “It feels great. I have been committed for a year now and just to have this day to officially become a Louisville Cardinal is special. I can’t wait to join them.”
AJ Esparza, Air Force Academy – Thank you speech “I just want to thank my family as you have done so much for me. Thank you coaches and staff and I’m exited to serve for my country and protecting all of you guys.”
Trevor Hyman, Stanford University – What is it like to sign “This is probably the biggest day of my life. I’m super excited and I’m just really happy I could do it with my whole family here and all my friends. I’m just really excited to be a part of the Cardinal.”
Brandon Marquez, University of Seattle – Thank you speech “I want to thank all the staff here, my teammates and all my coaches especially Freddy who has been there from the beginning helping me out and supporting me. I want to say thank you to my family for always supporting me and making all the sacrifices for me to be here.”
Ive Burnett, University of South Carolina – What is it like to sign “It’s amazing and truly a blessing to see my dreams become a reality. I just want to take my talents to South Carolina and hopefully I will have success there that I have had here.”
Jon Zabassajja, Southern Methodist University – Thank you speech “I have been a part of Real Salt Lake for
three years and I want to thank Freddy who has been here all three years. Tim who just recently got here and Tony who got here last year. I want to thank my mentor Mike Rabasca who has helped me though the college decision as well as the coaches here. I want to thank Martin who is a great coach who I admire very much. I want to thank my mom and dad and everyone who is here today.”
Tigran Tiraturyan, California State University, San Bernardino – What is it like to sign “Honestly it’s an amazing feeling. I didn’t think I would have the chance to sign. Seeing my teammates signing with all their families and all the coaches here makes this a special day. It’s an amazing feeling to sign.”
Brandon Johnston, Gardner Webb University – Thank you speech “I want to say thank you to my parents for pushing me and getting me to this level. I’m really excited to go back home to North Carolina and I want to thank the coaching staff and all the staff at the Academy. Thank you for all the memories and I want to thank all my friends. If it wasn’t for you guys I wouldn’t be here right now.
Danny Gavin, University of Washington – What is it like to sign “Unbelievable to know that all the work I have put in over the past 10 years playing club, getting up in the morning and working out pays off. Now I get to play for a Division I college program.
Isaias “Junior” Juarez, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee – What is it like to sign “It’s a really good feeling after all the years of putting in hard work. This is everything that I’ve worked for and it’s especially special to here with all my teammates who are as lucky as me.”
Amer Sasivarevic, Grand Canyon University – What is it like to sign “It feels great to get a lot of pressure off my back. I’m just grateful to live in such a good environment with great coaches, great teammates and all the staff around. I just feel blessed to be here.”
Antonio “Tony” Murillo, High Pointe University – Thank you speech “I want to thank my coaches for making me a better player and always pushing me everyday and I want to thank my teammates and my family.”
Jose “Coco” Navarro, Marquette University – What is it like to sign “It feels great. I’m happy I was able to sign and I’m looking forward to it. I’m pretty pumped.”
Jonathan Stadler, Oregon State University – What is it like to sign “Back in middle school I 
was the type of student that was barely passing classes with C’s. But on an academic standpoint this has been such a maturing experience and figuring it out of your own is something I have always worked hard for. I think making the decision to come down to the academy was a personal decisions and it was a maturing one. I’m happy to finally commit to a school. It’s cool to look towards to future and see what the next 4 years are going to be like and I think I’m going to enjoy it.”
Kostas Kotselas, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee – Thank you speech “I have been here for 6 months and it has been fun with all the coaches here. A lot of people think going to Wisconsin was a big jump for me because of the weather but I loved everything about the city and the school. None of that would have been possible without the coaches here. I want to thank my parents for sacrificing a lot for me.”